


Long Way Home

by RebaJean



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 16:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11361258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebaJean/pseuds/RebaJean
Summary: Luna's friends Kakeru and Himeko, who appeared in the end of the S manga or S movie, endure an out of this world adventure. Set several years after the Sailor Moon manga/anime movie events.





	Long Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon © 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation, English language adaptation © 1995 by DIC Entertainment.
> 
> Story was originally published 10-08-01.

Luna was snoring quietly in her bed in the corner of Usagi's old room. She often escaped the bedlam of the Chiba apartment by returning to the Tsukino house when the grandchildren were absent. In her dreams, air swirled red against the orange and pink tinged sky. The mood was one of excitement and anticipation. She saw a large white wedge in the distance. She awoke suddenly as the door slammed open.

"Oh sorry Luna, I didn't know you were in here," said Shingo as he carried a load of dry, folded diapers into the room and dumped them on the bed.

"That's alright. I was just getting up to go get some food anyway," Luna sighed.

* * * * * * * * *

We had landed three nights earlier on the wide circular floor of the ancient crater. Since the landing we had been constantly buffeted by the wind-whipped sand. The extreme velocity had etched the paint on the outer hull, which the engineers had claimed would last far longer than the duration our mission required. Our communications had been intermittent at best because of storm damage. We awaited the end of the sandstorm to make further repairs.

The next morning dawned clear for once, and cold as always. The dust of last night's storm had gone. The entire vista from the hatch window was one of calm. "You haven't time to be looking at the scenery until after we get that comm. unit fixed. So come on out here," came a voice over the suit to ship frequency. Muttering to myself, I suited up and waited in the airlock for the pressure to equalize.

I backed out carefully and started down the shaky ladder. Another thing to add to the repair list. The reality of space travel was far from the relative calm and orderliness of my old lab, where you could order replacement parts if something broke (if you had the budget). On the eight-month voyage out we had constantly been repairing and kludging equipment purchased from the lowest bidder. The ladder slowly pulled loose and tipped backward. I hit the ground on my backpack life support unit with the ladder landing on top of me. I switched on the systems check to run on my heads-up display. No suit malfunctions showed. I didn't even hurt anywhere; the sand beneath me was a fairly deep layer without a lot of the rocks scattered everywhere.

"Hey, if you're not hurt, get over here and help me with this comm. unit," yelled the unsympathetic commander, Sergei Romanov. Since arguing would only prolong the task, I turned my attention to the broken machinery, except for occasional glimpses of the magenta and pink sky.

When we were finished, I stayed outside to look around. Another suited figure moved over to join me from where she had been working on deploying the solar power unit. Himeko and I quietly talked together while taking in the view. I doubt I would ever become accustomed to the stark beauty of this place. All across the floor of the crater were gently sloping dunes of red ocher sand. Mountains formed a jagged ring in the distance, jutting sharply into the dark sky. The sun is very pale and small where it casts a white light. The tops of the dunes are highlighted while their bases are lost in red shadow.

We walked over to the dome where the gardens were now planted and looked back towards the ship. The Yuri seemed only a small blunt white wedge against the ocher sand and darkening sky. Himeko remarked on the loneliness and isolation of this desolate place so far from home.

"Let's go back inside, Kakeru. Marie's going to try to get a video channel to Control Center and she's cooking tonight," said Himeko. The small crew rotates the housekeeping chores, besides being cross-trained in three or four scientific or engineering disciplines. I sometimes think Sergei married Marie primarily because she is one of the few truly good cooks in the international astronaut corps. She is a graduate of the Cordon Bleu school in France.

The next day was a field expedition to the beginning of the rill rising into the mountains about fifty kilometers away. Two pressurized rovers started out early, the Laika crewed by Himeko and myself, and the Baker by the American couple, Julie and Mark North. At our slow rate of travel, it would be hours before we arrived at the site chosen for investigation. It was suspected there might be a layer of ice frozen beneath the hills near the mountains. A nearby source of water would make this a prime choice for a permanent base.

The trip across the crater floor was quite monotonous and uneventful. As far as the mountains on the horizon, there was nothing but mounds of dust. I will be glad to get back to earth where everything is not just shades of red. The absence of green in the land makes a great difference. Still, it is good to be on land and be able to travel about, instead of being cooped up in the small ship traveling through the black of space. When we arrived at the site for the next day's excavations, there was nothing required for the mission except to wait for dawn. Himeko and I enjoyed the privacy that was hard to come by in a small ship crewed by eight. I suspect Mark and Julie in the other rover did the same.

I awoke early and decided to go out and watch the sunrise. The stars shone more brightly than on earth (no light pollution here). I could feel the petrifying cold through the suit insulation. The darkness gradually withdrew. A rosy magenta spread across the horizon. When I returned my gaze to the sky after a glance at the sleeping crawlers, a smoky red ball had popped above the horizon. By the time the others had joined me outside, the sun had assumed its normal color.

We surveyed, mapped, and carefully cataloged the aereological features of the chasm concealed on the far side of the rill visible from the ship. This world presents us with constant surprises. What had appeared to be a volcanic formation showed unmistakable signs of being caused by water erosion. There had at least been water here in the past. The other rover moved north as we headed south along the canyon rim. Across the gorge striated layers were visible on the far wall showing how the sediment had been deposited by water flow. Although astronomy is my first specialty, I had trained in geology and hydrology for this mission, as Himeko had understudied Mario and Sabra Cappileri in life support and hydraulic equipment. There was enough to study to keep us busy for years, if only we could stay so long.

We drove slowly south, video recording and mapping all we saw. As the rover climbed a small rise and started down again, the bottom dropped out with a lurch and splash. The rover tipped over and back to one side, throwing us both out of the seats in front and tumbling us toward the rear of the rover. It was being sucked down in a bog like quicksand. We had hit a patch of ground where the permafrost underneath had melted. Somehow I seemed detached from what was happening. I felt no pain even though I could see my leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Himeko screamed and collapsed, blood pouring from her shoulder where she had impacted some equipment.

I crawled over to where Himeko lay, and attempted to put pressure on the wound where she was bleeding. Her rib cage was indented and her breathing labored. She began coughing red fluid. Her lungs must be damaged as well.

I crawled to the radio and attempted to call the other crawler. There was no output or response. The comm. link had already been buried in the muck. We continued to sink. We had all risked our lives to reach this planet and now it appeared we would be the first to die on Mars. Life support must be failing; the air was getting stuffy and hard to breathe. Not that I cared for myself, with Himeko in such bad shape there was nothing I could do to help her. She would soon be gone.

"I love you, Himeko. Wait for me," were among my last conscious thoughts. "Princess Kaguya, Luna, Help us," I shouted last.

* * * * * * * * *

Luna awoke in terror. Her friends were in danger! She ran to her communicator and pressed the all alert emergency button. She yelled, "Scouts teleport to me immediately. Rei take coordinates from the images in my mind and send them to Ami. See if you can triangulate their position."

The room filled with Sailor Scouts, all the inner and outer together. Rei looked around, "Where's Meatball Head and Cape Boy, late as usual."

Luna said in a disgusted tone of voice, "There's no time for sarcasm tonight Mars. They're not coming. The Bunny's incubating another litter."

"Sailor teleport!" they all shouted as we transported to the base camp on Mars. The crew appeared dumbfounded at the appearance of eight Sailor Scouts and two cats in their midst.

Rei yelled at them, "Himeko and Kakeru are dying. Where is their rover? We couldn't get a closer reading from back on earth."

Sergei moved over toward the scouts, "Julie reported their rover was headed south over a small hill when it disappeared and they lost communications. They have turned around and are headed that way now."

Ami told him, "They had better not get too close or you may lose them as well. The rover was caught in a bog and is sinking. Himeko is very badly injured. They have lost life support. I don't think your rover can do anything for them. We'll transport them here in just a minute, after Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto go there to carry them back."

The scouts reappeared carrying the injured couple. Sabra, the medical officer, and Ami examined them. Sabra shook her head, "There's nothing I can do for Himeko here. Her lung is collapsed and punctured; she needs surgery immediately. We could splint Kakeru's leg but it would heal abnormally. He might not be able to walk when we get back to earth."

"We can take them back to earth with us. Sorry, but we can't retrieve your equipment as well. Will that be satisfactory?" Luna asked them.

The crew stared open mouthed at the talking cat. Artemis chimed in, "We need to be going. Good luck with the rest of your mission." Minako smiled at their response to Luna and her mentor.

The scouts circled with the injured astronauts and the cats in the center. Chanting, "Sailor teleport, injured transport," they disappeared in a multi-colored flash of light. When they reappeared on earth, the emergency room staff at Tokyo General Hospital had almost the same amazed expression as the ones worn by the Mars expedition crew.

Ami ran interference and gave the intake nurse a summary of the condition of the injured pair. She added, "Contact NASDA (the Japanese space organization) for information. They are Himeko Nayotake and Kakeru Ohzara."

The nurse protested, "But they're on Mars."

"Were on Mars, that's where they were injured," Ami answered.

As the staff rushed over to take Himeko into the trauma center, Kakeru awoke and looked about in confusion at a busy hospital with eight Sailor Scouts, a white cat, and a familiar black cat as well. "Luna, you heard us," he exclaimed.

"Yes. We were able to rescue Himeko in time. They should be able to save her. You need to have some repairs done as well. Sorry you won't be able to finish your mission," Luna said to him as she trotted over to his side.

"Sorry? You all saved us both. How can I ever thank you?" he asked.

"But you already did long ago. Don't you remember you rescued me when I was in that street?" Luna answered him. As she looked around, she saw that the Sailor Scouts were running toward the exit. A group of agitated men and women with notebooks and cameras was headed their way.

"I better disappear too. You might prefer to have died a hero's death after all, in a few minutes. Here come the paparazzi!" Luna exclaimed as she streaked out the door.


End file.
